Joseph sat in his carriage, thinking for a few moments. How could he have lived two lives, in two different worlds, but both of them ended up on the same island, with the same woman? He wanted to think that the islands were just similar, and that it wasn't the same woman, but there was no mistaking that smirk.
"Sylva." He spoke the name with such longing, Stella jerked.
"Is anything wrong?" she asked him.
"No," he said with a sigh. He knew that he could have loved her easily in either of his two previous lives, but he wasn't sure that he could fall in love with someone who may not exist on this world. He knew he was drawn to her, ridiculously so, but she was only a memory in this life.
His father wanted him to grow up, become powerful with the help of the system, and have a lot of children to pass on the line. Maybe he could find her sooner in this life? But Joseph knew he had no plans to travel to any islands any time soon. He just hoped it happened before the age of 70.
Stella was looking at him oddly, so he got to work.
STATUS UPDATED
(STATISTICS)
NAME: Joseph Aurum
AGE: 7
(PRIMARY STATS)
STRENGTH: 8
DEXTERITY: 9
INTELLIGENCE: 14 (+1)
HEALTH: 11
(SECONDARY STATS)
HIT POINTS: 9
WILLPOWER: 19 (+1)
PERCEPTION: 12 (+1)
FATIGUE: 14
(ADVANTAGES)
PATRON – Father, constantly around, provides all equipment
ATTRACTIVE - +1 reaction due to natural good looks
PITIABLE – People pity you and want you to feel better, expect head pats (NEW)
STATUS - +1 reaction due to being an elite merchant's son
SINGLE MINDED - +3 on long term tasks on which you focus, -1 to any other actions during this time (NEW)
MAGERY: 2 (NEW)
MANA REGENERATION: 1/min (NEW)
MAGE VISION: passive (NEW)
REDUCED SPELL COST: 2 (NEW)
(DISADVANTAGES)
DEAD BROKE – No money owned personally
SOCIAL STIGMA – Minor
(SKILLS)
ACCOUNTING (MASTER)
LAW (ADVANCED)
ADMINISTRATION (INTERMEDIATE)
ECONOMICS (ADVANCED)
FINANCE (ADVANCED)
MARKET ANALYSIS (ADVANCED)
APPLIED MATH (ADVANCED)
MERCHANT (BASIC)
BIOLOGY (ADVANCED)
CHEMISTRY (INTERMEDIATE)
DIAGNOSIS (ADVANCED)
FIRST AID (ADVANCED)
GEOLOGY (INTERMEDIATE)
PHARMACY SYNTHETIC (INTERMEDIATE)
PHYSICIAN (BASIC)
DIPLOMACY (INTERMEDIATE)
FAST TALK (INTERMEDIATE)
PROPAGANDA (BASIC)
SURGERY (INTERMEDIATE)
1-HAND SWORD (TRAINING) (NEW)
ETIQUETTE-COURT (TRAINING) (NEW)
DANCING-COURT (TRAINING) (NEW)
(MAGIC) (NEW)
FOOD (BASIC)
TEST FOOD (BASIC)
DECAY (TRAINING)
PURIFY FOOD (IN QUEUE)
FIRE (TRAINING)
MANA EMMISION (INTERMEDIATE)
REGULAR (INTERMEDIATE)
JET (INTERMEDIATE)
BREATH (INTERMEDIATE)
GAZE (INTERMEDIATE)
AREA (BASIC)
MISSILE (BASIC)
Training in Area made him glad he had trained Breath first. When he got apprentices, he would definitely make that their first priority. He wasn't sure how many snacks he would have been eating otherwise. As it was, Area was still visually one of the most impressive techniques to train. If the basic level was about surrounding him in a cloud of stars, then intermediate level was about creating constellations. It was gorgeous.
First, he learned how the mana wanted to react at the basic level in order to stabilize it. Then, it was about convincing the mana to do what he needed it to do. It sounded simple but when you are controlling thousands of mana particles at the same time, it can take quite a strain on you.
He learned dozens of little tricks and methods over the four days he was training. The mana would swirl around the entire cabin of the new carriage, at speed, and yet they would still avoid whatever he wanted them to. Stella, in particular, was not impressed when the mana particles kept colliding with her. They didn't hurt, but she gave him a strange look anyway, so he stopped.
Training with missile emission was going great. The new level allowed him to aim it instantly and even control it slightly, after he shot it. Again, it had no force as it was just mana, but that meant when he shot some glasses, the mana would light them up beautifully. Someday, he was definitely going to do this with lasers. He was sure of it.
Joseph got a little carried away actually. He lost track of time when Stella was coming to pick him up, so she walked in on him in full supervillain mode.
"You dare to challenge ME? Fool! You have not yet begun to understand the arcane mysteries. You have merely been adopted by magic. I was born into it. Molded by it. Magic is in my blood. Silly mortal. I have the blood of dragons."
And every time he spouted something silly, he would light up one of the glasses with a mana missile. Joseph was totally into it, when he turned around and Stella was standing there staring at him with a look he didn't think, no, he was quite sure, he had never seen on her face before.
"Um…." He could feel his face getting red.
"Master, it is time for dinner." Then she promptly turned and went back the way she came. They had cleared the area for him to practice, so nobody was supposed to see that. He followed with a heavy sigh.
The next morning, he was really hoping Stella was going to let it blow over, when she brought breakfast.
"Master, I left out the eggs, in deference to your noble dragon heritage." She set his plate down with a small smirk.
"Ah…" He sat there with his mouth open, while she snickered.
Suddenly, Sylva's smile showed up in his mind's eye and he jumped up from his seat in surprise.
"SYLVA!? I know that smirk! I've seen it in my dreams!"
"Whatever do you mean?" she asked, scowling now.
"You are Sylva. I know that smile."
"I don't know what you are talking about."
"But, but I've searched for you for forever! Finding you, was one of my life goals, and here you are!"
"Does this mean you're going to attack me now?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"What? No! Why would I attack you?"
"You seemed to be about to do something," she said, sitting down and beginning to eat her own breakfast.
"Then, does that mean you really are Sylva?" He couldn't hardly contain his excitement.
She just sighed as she took another bite.
"That's awesome!" he crowed, shoving food into his mouth as he couldn't take his eyes off of her.
"Which of my lives happened first?" he asked as he swallowed half his meal in one gulp, trying not to choke.
She leaned her head onto her hand, stirring her food around on her plate. "I think your first time on the island was when you were the old man."
"So, my accountant life. How did I die? I don't remember. Did I die in my sleep?"
"No," she said, softly. "The island could shift between realms. You died when it shifted."
"Is that why I could never find it again in my second life?" he asked, scraping the last bits of food up with his bread.
"Yes."
"Well, I think, because you're older, that its your fault we're here now."
"Wait, what?" She looked up in confusion.
"Well, you were born first, so that means, it's your fault that we're both here in this world."
She opened her mouth to argue, then closed it and shook her head. He smiled, ecstatic. This was turning into the best day of his life!